Beto's Not The Only Politician Who Draws Inspiration From Music

I had such a nice response to the post Thursday night about how The Clash-- and specifically The Clampdown from London Calling influenced Beto's life that I decided to ask other political leaders if music was important to them or if they had any favorite artists or songs or albums. Beto still uses "The Clampdown" when he walks out on the stage at his events and... well, just watch this. Did Ted Cruz and his supporters have a clue?



Quite a few members of Congress and candidates for Congress mentioned The Clash to me. California freshman Katie Porter has a different favorite artist but she told me that her 13 year old son "is obsessed with The Clash and Joe Strummer and his activism. Literally I hear about this 2-3 hours a week. I own an older minivan so no ability to play digital music, but I have 4 CD player. 2 of the 4 CDs are The Clash. The other CD belongs to my middle son who is 10 and is Deadpool 2 south fan, and the final CD is kid’s songs like 'You are my Sunshine' and This Land is my Land, which is my 7-year old daughter’s pick." 

All this is to say I rarely get to listen to anything! And many moms are in the same position-- listening for when the laundry is done, a kid cries, the microwave beeps. But when I do, I listen to American singer/songwriters. I think it really matters when someone speaks their own words. Which is to say I don’t believe in speechwriters and messaging experts. So I would list Ryan Bingham, Pat Green, Dixie Chicks...

My favorite artist is probably Brandi Carlile. I managed to quote a lyric in a Financial Services hearing this week.

 

And one line from her song "The Eye" has a lot of applicability to trying to be a progressive freshmen Democrat in a world of Trump’s tactics-- and survive that every day with some soul and integrity left.

You can dance in a hurricane but only if you are standing in the eye.

Kara Eastman and I first bonded pretty much the same way I first bonded with Beto-- through music. Now she's running for a congressional seat in Omaha but music was a big part of her life. "I grew up listening to punk rock," she told me. "My husband is the lead singer of Horace Pinker-- a pop punk band that has produced dozens of CDs and toured around the world. My favorite band is Hüsker Dü. I had the opportunity to meet Bob Mould at a wedding years ago and told him my favorite song was Chartered Trips. He said it was his favorite too! Green Day is another favorite. We’ve known them for years; they even stayed at our house before they were famous. Many punk bands stand for thinking for yourself, for changing systems, and not accepting the status quo.

So many theories, so many prophecies. What we do need is a change of ideas- Bad Religion.

I can't wait to see Kara questioning witnesses in committee! Jim Himes represents southwest Connecticut, basically Fairfield County, and he noted that he's "older than Beto" and that "my equivalent would be Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon." (Jim is 52... still young enough to get become a Clash fan; Beto's 46 and Kara's 48.) The Clash weren't the only punk rock band mentioned either. Iowa progressive Democrat JD Scholten, who ran against neo-Nazi Steve King last time and-- with ZERO help from the DCCC nearly beat him. He mentioned " three songs that I play way too much:

• Bastards of Young - The Replacements
• Wake Up - Arcade Fire
• The Promised Land - Bruce Springsteen 

I recall Ted Lieu and his wife being big time Fleetwood Mac fans and Ted even raised money for California candidates last year with the help of Lindsey Buckingham when when it comes down to a most favorite musician... he had to go with Pat Benatar. His favorite song is "Invincible." He told me it "did not change my life... but it's a great song."



Ro Khanna says his favorite musicians are Simon and Garfunkel but when it comes to just one song... he had to go with "Ebony and Ivory" by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. Apparently Ro's not the only one who liked this one. Here's a performance they did at the White House in 2010.

Sticking with Californians, Mark DeSaulnier told me he's "a big fan of Motown." And he offered Just My Imagination by the Temptations as one of his favorites.

And then there's Mark Takano, who couldn't pick just one-- or two, or three... He's competing with Beto for guest dj. And very ecumenical taste-- it must be fun working in his office!

• Lately, Jenni and the Mexicats: "Verde Más Alla"
• Julieta Venegas: Limon y Sal
• Duet by Shakira and Maná: Mi Verdad
• Yo Yo Ma performances
• Joni Mitchell singing Both Sides Now as a septuagenerian
• Blossom Dearie: Touch the Hand of Love
• Nina Simone: Mississippi Goddam; "how it feels to be free"
• Etta James: At Last
• Aretha Franklin: I say a little prayer; Natural Woman
• Jake Shimabukuro: Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah 
• Lou Reed: Take a Walk on the Wild Side
• George Ezra: Blame It On Me
• Streisand and Garland Duet: "Happy Days are Here Again"

Shahid Buttar, the progressive activist running for the San Francisco seat occupied by that sad remnants of Nancy Pelosi. He's an interesting real life guy. This is what he told me this morning:

I was an MC and poet long before I became a lawyer, and give credit to the early, conscious era of hip-hop as among my strongest both lyrical and political influences. Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" and "Burn Hollywood Burn" seared an awareness of power and disparity into my teenage mind, and “Power to the People" often finds its way into my DJ sets. Arrested Development, who brought us “Mr. Wendal" and “Washed Away,“ are other visionary artists who inspired me, while Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's The Message showed me the magic of embedding powerfully subversive lyrics within aesthetically compelling music. I grew equally enamored of thematically similar work from both earlier and later eras, like The Revolution will not be Televised by the late & great Gill Scott Heron (to whom I have been often compared as a lyricist and performer) and "Move any Mountain" by the Sha-men. Today, contemporary hip-hop artists like Asheru, Head-Roc, and Equipto continue that tradition, alongside house music producers like Ross Couch. As an MC who rhymes live over DJ sets spanning house, funk, and afrobeat, I try to draw on both of those traditions at once.

One more Californian? Dary Rezvani is the progressive Democrat running against Trump enabler Devin Nunes in the Central Valley this year. He's 29-- so, yeah, music's big in his life. Ready?

I actually have a political pump up playlist. These are the four songs that I feel most embody my message, specifically they help me remember that the decision to run is not for me but rather for the people with no voice. Further to that point, I feel they capture a message of pent up aggression and helplessness that exists within our society specifically within Millennials and Gen Z.

1- Americans - Janelle Monae

Seventy-nine cent to your dollar
All that bullshit from white-collars
You see my color before my vision
Sometimes I wonder if you would fly
Would it help you make a better decision?

2- Fight the Power - Public Enemy

Yet our best trained, best educated, best equipped, best-prepared troops, refuse to fight
As a matter of fact, it's safe to say that they would rather switch than fight.

3- Survival - Spirit Animal

Getting up I won't back down
Sticking it out for another round
Everyday I'm fighting for my survival

4 Smells like Teen Spirit - Nirvana

With the lights out, it's less dangerous
Here we are now, entertain us
I feel stupid and contagious
Here we are now, entertain us

Two of these songs are almost two decades old yet the message still resonates as if they were written today.

Music and the arts, in general, are what show the true colors of a society. My generation has been told to follow a path that no longer exists. There is a deep sense of helplessness which has led to resentment towards an older generation that simply parrots the rhetoric "just work harder". These feelings are driven by the fact that we can never live up to the metrics set by the generations before us, not because we lack the skills but society lacks the structure.

We have such a generational disconnect that lawmakers don’t realize people are working 2-3 jobs just to break even. This disconnect is most prevalent when it comes to the housing problem in California. It's easy to say all homeless are drug addicts but it isn't until you work at a place like Sacred Heart, that you realize how large the functional homeless population is. These are students and minimum wage employees that are forced to sleep in tents or their cars just so they can continue to work for their current employers. "Work harder" is some of the most dangerous rhetoric in this country. It immediately ends any conversation that may lead to the realization this problem is deeply systemic.

Kathy Ellis is running for Congress in southeast Missouri, in a blood-red district. Here's what she said when I asked what music she likes and feels inspired by: "James Taylor, Carole King- I Feel the Earth Move..., Aretha Franklin, Santana, from way back, Simon and Garfunkel, Holly Near from the protest days, The Eagles and the definitive work for politics Hotel Californi-- 'you can check out anytime you like, but you can never leave...' Classical, Jazz, Cabaret, Musicals, Hip Hop, I love them all."

Jon Hoadley is the progressive state Rep taking on entrenched Republican incumbent Fred Upton this cycle in southwest Michigan's 6th district. He told us he "loves Broadway musicals, especially Dear Evan Hansen. 'For Forever' is one of my favorite songs. This song’s story of self discovery and self acceptance really resonates with me." Never heard it? Check it out:




Tom Suozzi represents the North Shore of Long Island, so of course he's a big Beatles fan. He told me his favorite album is The White Album

The whole country hopes Marie Newman is going to defeat Blue Dogs Dan Lipinski and Cheri Bustos this cycle... and become the congresswoman from IL-03. She told me that "a few songs come to mind that motivate and inspire me:

- Brave by Sara Bareilles
- Guardian by Alanis Morissette
- Born This Way by lady Gaga

And,

Any song by Earth, Wind And Fire makes me dance

And,

Our campaign song: Hold on, I’m coming by Sam and Dave."

I wondered if anyone would mention a metal song. I didn't really expect it from Eva Putzova, a progressive Democrat primarying Blue Dog Tom O'Halleran in Arizona. But the song inspired people politically all over the world and I'm excited to include it:



"Scorpion's 'Wind of Change' still gives me goosebumps as the euphoric 1989 formed my values and beliefs that when people organize, when they march, when they stand with each other in solidarity they can transform their communities for better. But my taste for music is eclectic and not necessary driven by my politics-- I listen to everything from U2, Sting, and Bruce Hornsby to Los Lonely Boys, Adele, and a symphonic metal band Symfobia where my 20-year-old nephew plays drums."

Briana Urbina wants to take on that icon of everything that's wrong in Washington, conservative, corrupt octogenarian Steny Hoyer. She told me she has " very eclectic musical taste but I guess my favorite genre of music is hip hop. I was raised listening almost exclusively to Spanish language music and Motown/80s R&B. Marc Anthony is my favorite singer of all time and I love salsa music. The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill is tied with Stevie Wonder's Songs in the Key of Life for my favorite album, all time. My most listened to albums over the past few years is probably a 3 way tie between Invasion of Privacy by Cardi B, Damn by Kendrick Lamar and Dangerous Woman by Ariana Grande. I love music overall. I loved Beyonce' Coachella performance and listened to it for a week on repeat."

I wonder if Steny watched this too:




Shaniyat Chowdhury is primarying corrupt New Dem Gregory Meeks in Queens. For people who just think of Shan as a rugby star, this guy is like major into music! How would you like getting a job in his office!

I love hip-hop and rap music. I listen to it everyday to give me social and political inspiration, especially on days when I need to be uplifted myself. The music is so engrained in the culture that it’s become a lifestyle for everyday struggling Black and Brown people in America. As KRS-One put it, hip-hop is about peace, love, unity, and fun. The everyday life of Black America is in hip-hop. The genre has evolved so much since the 70’s and is now universal. At the core of it, real artists display raw emotions and perspectives in an art form. It’s just real.

When I was growing up, my cousins were battle rappers in school. I’d always hang out with them to hear some of their work they’ve written in their book of rhymes. I eventually followed their footsteps and started battle rapping in middle school. I was doing it for a few years until I started playing sports in high school.

When I was about eight years old, my cousin put me onto rappers like Tupac, Biggie, Big L, and Jay-Z. It wasn’t until when my cousin blasted Nas’ Illmatic in its entirety in his bedroom, that I fell in love with the music. I thought it was the greatest thing I’ve ever listened to. It was the first time I heard storytelling in such smooth, intellectual, but in a street provoking manner. The album perfectly depicted what life was like in the streets of Queens for young kids growing up in it. In my opinion, it’s still the best rap album ever.

However, my favorite rapper is J. Cole. I know many hip-hop heads glorify the golden era of hip-hop and understandably so. Personally, J. Cole is in my top five. His longevity and quality of records he’s released puts him ahead of his peers. As much as I loved 90’s and early 2000’s rap, I feel like I grew up with J. Cole’s music. The Warm Up and Friday Night Lights (best mixtapes ever) came out at a time when I was in my teens, becoming a young man, and having a better understanding of the world around me. At this point of my life, I’ve lost friends to violence, drugs, my family grew up working class and poor. For many, the only way out of the hood was by pursuing music or sports. J. Cole’s storytelling at the time was so focused on a young boy trying to make it out of the ghetto and be somebody for himself and his family while managing all the life obstacles. He painted these vivid pictures that I saw myself in. Word for word, there was always something relatable. If he was talking about pursuing his dreams and ambitions, it kept me determined. If he was talking about relationships, it made me aware of women rights. If it was about family, I made sure to keep working hard. It was instrumental in my upbringing because I didn’t have a lot of guidance growing up. I took away a lot of life lessons from his music. I found solace in the headphones. His music was refreshing for the rap game in the late 2000’s. If I could pick one J. Cole song that I could always listen to, it’s “Show Me Something.” It never made it on any of his projects but the record is powerful, spiritual, and picked me up during difficult times in my life.

 

Now, the rap album that really awakened my political consciousness, is Kendrick Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly. It’s what radicalized me. By far one of the best hip-hop albums of this generation and maybe ever. The release of the album was critical and relevant to the issues that affected Black communities. Though we had a Black president in office, it seemed like President Obama was struggling dealing with racial injustices. No other president in history had the responsibility he had to address it. This was at a time when we lost Michael Brown, Sandra Bland, and Tamir Rice to police brutality. Black America needed a voice. There were many activists and organizers on the ground doing the hard work but it seemed like the nation wasn’t listening. Rap has historically been able to bring Black issues to the forefront of America. That’s what TPAB did. The album echoed the struggles of Black America and supported the empowerment and activism behind it. It mattered to me as someone who is a person of color. I always have to wonder about any day being my last. The album has taught me resiliency and self-love, while maneuvering through any trials life throws at me. How I grew up made me to person I am today. It’s the story so many of us carry on our shoulders. 

UPDATE: Audrey Denney

I have the music preferences of a 15 year old girl and a 65 year old man at the same time.  Two of the three best nights of my life were concerts – one was Taylor Swift and one was Garth Brooks. Taylor Swift’s song Change inspires me to keep fighting for justice even when it seems impossible. My best friend has the voice of an angel and sang it at the election night party last year. Garth Brook’s song Standing Outside the Fire was on the first CD I ever purchased. When I listen to it now, it feels like it perfectly sums up this chapter in my life. 'We call them weak, who are unable to resist the slightest chance love might exist, and for that forsake it all. They're so hell-bent on giving, walking a wire. Convinced it's not living if you stand outside the fire.

Ready To Eat? Mark Takano Has Some Useful Suggestions For Thanksgiving

With Trumpf giving a certain air of acceptance to blatant lying this season, California Congressman Mark Takano has put together some useful suggestions about stuffing the predictable arguments with the Limbaugh-lovin' brother-in-law with actual facts. I know, I know... they don't care about facts but what's the alternative? Make them all watch the John Kasich ad about Trumpf/Hitler?

Eat hearty! I think everyone at the dinner I'm going to tonight is either a Democrat or an Independent. Although I guess I can imagine a fight breaking out between Hillary and Bernie supporters. Gee, I hope not. How do you argue with someone unpatriotic/uncaring/uneducated... enough to back Hillary? Sorry for that. I was joking. Bernie admirers will just ignore the Hillary louts. Meanwhile though, Joe Conason offered a worthy Thanksgiving meditation I thought was worth quoting from.

At this moment, millions of immigrant families confront fear and insecurity, as political demagogues vilify and threaten them. Muslim Americans face intimidation from those same opportunistic bigots. Black Americans suffer resurgent racist assaults, especially when speaking out in their own defense. And on the other side of the world, hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees seeking only to save themselves and their children from murder and enslavement know that much of the supposedly civilized world, including many political leaders in this country, is coldly turning them away.

That is why I want to express thanks that Barack Obama is president of the United States.

Last year on this day I noted, while acknowledging his flaws and errors, “how much worse our situation might be” had Obama’s opponents been in control from January 2009 to the present instead of him. To me, “the undeniable truth is that Obama righted the nation in a moment of deep crisis and set us on a navigable course toward the future, despite bitter, extreme, and partisan opposition that was eager to sink us rather than see him succeed.” None of that has changed, of course-- and in the current atmosphere of bigotry, recrimination, and psychopathic rhetoric, the president’s calm, rational, decent voice is more vital than ever.

The presidential nominating process of one of our two major political parties is elevating an ambitious television personality whose campaign is based on sinister appeals to xenophobia, suspicion, and anger. Like a Queens-born version of Mussolini, Donald Trump tells big lies about Mexicans and Muslims, encourages violence among his fanatical followers, and issues hollow, bombastic rants about “making America great again.” Most of Trump’s Republican rivals seem envious of him, when they should be disgusted by his plans to “register” Muslims or his promise to deport millions of undocumented immigrants; their objections to his outrages have largely been equivocal, indirect, feeble, halting. In his wake, they have been all too eager to denigrate the innocent refugees as potential “terrorists”-- and to dispose of cherished American values without a backward glance.

Trump promises to make Americans proud of our country again, but the spectacle of furious thousands cheering him at a rally evokes revulsion and shame.

So when President Obama speaks out to defend immigrants and refugees from the scurrilous abuse of Trump and the Republicans, I feel a deep sense of gratitude-- just as I do when he chooses diplomacy over war, as he did in the nuclear negotiations with Iran, and science over propaganda, as he continues to do in his diplomatic and domestic efforts to address climate change.

With his own admirably cool style, shaking off the vicious attacks of his adversaries every day, the president upholds our venerable ideal of malice toward none and charity for all. In different ways that ideal was embodied in his predecessors, the presidents who originated and revived this most generous of national holidays-- George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt-- and its endurance is reason to be thankful indeed.

Don't let a fascist buffoon spoil your Thanksgiving.

Lou Reed: "Give me your hungry, your tired your poor; I'll piss on 'em"

Scaremongering xenphobia rarely hurts the scaremongers and xenophobes

There's been plenty of talk, including on this blog, about how the U.S. turned away Jewish refugees in the late 1930s-- sending many to their deaths in Nazi concentration camps-- but nothing was going to slow down conservative fear-mongering. Today the House passed this deranged, idiot anti-immigrant bill 289-137 with 47 of the House's worst Democrats crossing the aisle and joining the GOP. Mostly the aisle crossers were the right-wing fake Dems who are always the aisle crossers, like Patrick Murphy (New Dem-FL), Kyrsten Sinema (Blue Dog-AZ), Ami Bera (New Dem-CA), Cheri Bustos (Blue Dog-IL), Jim Cooper (Blue Dog-TN), Jim Costa (Blue Dog-CA), John Delaney (New Dem-MD), Gwen Graham (Blue Dog-FL), Jim Himes (New Dem-CT), Ann Kuster (New Dem-NH), Sean Patrick Maloney (New Dem-NY), Kurt Schrader (Blue Dog-OR)... all the congressional garbage. In fact, speaking of garbage, corrupt Long Island Islamophobe and all around bigot Steve Israel, in charge of DCCC messaging, voted with the GOP today too... of course. And so did Israel's doggie, Long Island New Dem Kathleen Rice.

Earlier today Chris Christie called for some kind of human wall to keep these refugees out of New Jersey, I wonder how much that's related to the political consequences of a lack of a human wall after World War II to keep Nazis out of New Jersey. Republicans actually recruited Nazis to come to New Jersey. In fact the Dulles brothers flooded New Jersey, Ohio and Michigan with Nazi war criminals and terrorists from, among other countries, Byelorussia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Estonia, and Latvia.

The Dulles Brothers, at the nexus of Wall Street, the intelligence community, the Republican Party and dangerously inept Cold War jingoism, overrode President Truman's and Congress' ban on allowing Nazi war criminals into the country, let alone employing them-- purging their records and getting them U.S. citizenship. John Foster Dulles, who now shamefully has an airport named after him near our nation's capital, was complicit steeped in Wall Street backing for prewar Hitler and was at all times looking out for the interests of the wealthy Republican investors who invested in him, particularly the Rockefellers and the Bushes. They had decided to bring their Nazi cronies to the U.S. once Truman was defeated by Dewey.

When Truman didn't play his assigned role, they did it anyway, and then when the Eisenhower-Nixon ticket was elected, the floodgates opened, and New Jersey, among a few other states, became a sanctuary for Nazi collaborators and war criminals from Eastern Europe. Nixon saw them as a counterbalance to the hated Jews, who always voted for the Democrats, and Eisenhower gave him supervisory powers over the operations to bring them to America. Ironically, many of them had been infiltrated by the Russian Communists and the entire program was an absolute disaster, bringing the U.S. no Cold War benefits whatsoever and costing the country hundreds of millions of dollars, but, eventually, helping elect Republican rightists from Nixon to Christie.

When the 47 Democrats joined the Republicans to target Syrian refugees fleeing from the murderous ISIS monsters that atrocious conservative policies in the Middle East helped create, only oneNew Jersey Democrat went right along with the circus, the worst one, of course, South Jersey conservative Donald Norcross, brother of corrupt Jersey Democratic machine boss George Norcross. I asked Alex Law, the progressive Democrat running against Donald Norcross and the Norcross Machine how he felt about the refugee situation.

What truly makes us Americans, what makes us who we are, are two things: our Constitution and the fact that as a people we are committed to doing the right thing. Speaking to the latter, what separates us, the thing that gives us our sense of exceptionalism is that we do the right thing even when it is hard. America is the home of the brave, and I have never once seen my country shy away from a challenge because of fear. We always rally and rise to the occasion. Right now, we are faced with that question of whether to rally or whether to close our doors to the thousands of human beings who are fleeing a war that we had a hand in creating. This is a war that shows no mercy to women and children, a war that has seen the use of poison gas and untold civilian casualty. As the greatest country on Earth, it isn't good enough to say we should only worry about our own people and forget about the pain of others, especially others that we have plenty of capacity to help. Yes, I think we should take every precaution when allowing these refugees to come to America, but we absolutely must help these people. Our strength is in our ability as a nation to be inspired past fear and do the right thing. I hope our government remembers that when considering helping these refugees. My opponent, Donald Norcross elected to join the party of those controlled by fear in becoming the only Democrat from New Jersey to vote with Republicans against allowing refugees into the country. I am incredibly disappointed by this, as I have been disappointed when he voted with Republicans on nearly every controversial vote during this Congressional term. When I am elected, I look forward to standing with fellow progressives on votes like this.

Watch Jerry Nadler (D-NY) on the floor this morning explaining why he conservatives were making a terrible mistake (and why he said he's ashamed of his colleagues)



Seattle's progressive Democrat, Jim McDermott made a similar powerful statement. "I stand in strong support of Governor Inslee’s recent announcement that Washington State would welcome refugees escaping the violence and devastation in Iraq and Syria. The Governor’s courageous stand is not only morally the right thing to do as Americans, but it also follows a tradition of past Washington State governors who saw through the fear, racist rhetoric and political gamesmanship and opened Washington State’s doors to those escaping hardship and despair.

"In reflecting on the events of the past week in Paris and Beirut, I’m reminded of what Pope Francis said at the opening of a Joint Session of Congress: 'Each son or daughter of a given country has a mission, a personal and social responsibility.' There could be no more prescient or truer call to action as we work to resettle refugees from war-torn Syria. I will vote against H.R. 4038, which disingenuously pledges to keep Americans safe by effectively shuttering refugee resettlement programs. Over the years these programs have been the critical lifeline to millions of honest and hard-working refugee families seeking a better life on America’s shores. Syria’s refugees are fleeing arguably the worst atrocities we have seen in modern history. It is within our personal and social responsibility as Americans, and well within our means as a country, to welcome and protect them."

Mike Honda, who was actually shut up with his family in an American internment camp for Japanese-American citizens during World War II, was mortified when the mayor of Roanoke, Virginia, David Bowers-- a putative Democrat and member of Hillary Clinton's Leadership Team-- made his revolting and very Republican-sounding statement this morning about internment camps.

Mayor Bowers' comments about Japanese internment do not represent the values of the Democratic Party, and his rhetoric has no place in our party. The cruel and baseless Japanese internment policies enacted during World War II are an ugly stain on our democracy, and should not be used to justify future exclusionary policies. Mayor Bowers should reflect on dark moments like these in our history when the dual crises of war abroad and the perceived threat of terror at home have emboldened dangerous xenophobia in America.

We are a nation of immigrants born out of an enduring desire to be free, but it's essential that we avoid repeating the mistakes of our predecessors. As the war against terror continues worldwide, the Democratic Party is firmly committed to recognizing the humanity of refugees and honoring and protecting the liberty, security and diversity of our great nation.

Mark Takano (D-CA) is also of Japanese heritage. This morning he told me that "Many Japanese-Americans, including my parents and grandparents, were stripped of their possessions and their freedom simply because they looked like our enemy. There is indeed a lesson from that terrible time in our history: We cannot allow fear to triumph over our principles and our compassion.”

 

So while Texas neo-fascist Brian Babin, who masquerades as a right-wing Republican, was on the radio claiming that "Mary and Jesus didn’t have suicide bomb vests strapped on them, and these folks do" and vowing to keep refugees out, Ted Lieu (D-CA), a decorated military officer, had a very different perspective from the Republican chicken-hawks. (By the way, Ted will be on MSNBC this evening discussing the refugee crisis with Chris Hayes-- highly recommended.) "During these times of crisis, the best angels of the American character must not be overtaken by fear and xenophobia. In search of a politically expedient solution, some are calling on the government to stop admitting Syrian refugees. Others have suggested we block only Muslims-- a bigoted idea and a desecration of our nation’s foundational religious freedoms." He continued:

Saying we need to choose between our refugee program and protecting national security is a false choice. It is also intellectually dishonest.

There is not a single example of a refugee committing a terrorist act in the United States. In Paris, the attacks were actually perpetrated by French nationals and Belgians, not Syrian refugees. Should we ban travel from French citizens and Belgians to America because some of them committed terrorist acts in Paris? If that idea sounds ridiculous, then so should the idea of banning children, widows, and seniors fleeing Syria from seeking safety in the United States.

Of the approximate 2,200 Syrian refugees already admitted to the United States, half are children and a quarter are senior citizens. Refusing to help some of the most vulnerable human beings in the world is not just un-American, it is an irrational overreaction with zero policy justification.

As an Air Force officer stationed in Guam during the mid-1990s, I participated in Operation PACIFIC HAVEN where the United States extracted thousands of Kurds out of northern Iraq to prevent Saddam Hussein from slaughtering them. I saw first-hand the extensive screening process that the U.S. conducted of the Kurdish refugees before bringing many of them to the mainland. Our nation’s screening process has only improved since then.

As Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson recently testified before Congress, refugees are already “subject to the highest level of security checks” before being admitted into the United States. It is an arduous 18-to-24 month process that puts UN-registered refugees through repeated screenings and background checks involving multiple government agencies.

House Republicans have introduced hastily-written legislation that would effectively shutter our program for refugees from war-torn Syria and Iraq. This knee-jerk reaction demonizes the vulnerable human beings who are most threatened by the conflict and is strategically unwise.

No one is happier about xenophobic, anti-Muslim, reactions than the so-called Islamic State. Islamophobic hysteria is a prime recruiting tool for terrorist organizations. This is exactly the kind of overreaction that they hope to achieve: To use terrible acts of violence to horrify Western society into compromising our own humanity and way of life.

The American story has in large part been written by intrepid souls fleeing persecution in search of a better life in a nation forged in liberty's name and dedicated to the equality of all.

Anyone who would close our borders to orphans fleeing barrel bombs, when substantial security checks are in place, is simply admitting defeat. They are surrendering to the tragic idea that America cannot be both strong and value-driven, that our union cannot be made more perfect by confronting fear and hatred and violence with even greater measures of strength, compassion and virtue. We are better than that.

Several of the Blue America House candidates-- even in red districts-- have stood up against the xenophobia of the Republican anti-immigrant incumbents they are challenging. Tom Guild (D-OK): "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The golden rule applies to desperate Syrian refugees seeking asylum in the United States. Our country plans to accept a limited number of refugees who are fleeing for their lives from the dysfunctional and dangerous country of Syria. They should be properly vetted by the U.S.  The current system of vetting often takes at least two years to certify refugees suitable for relocation to America. Turning our backs on those facing death and political persecution would betray traditional American values. As Lady Liberty says on her inscription, 'Give you tired, your poor, Your huddled masses, yearning to breathe free,  The wretched refuse of your teeming shore, Send these, the homeless, tempest tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door.'"

Similarly, state Senator Ruben Kihuen, who himself came to the U.S. as a child, and is now one of the progressive leaders in the Nevada legislature and a candidate for Congress, told Nevadans that his opponent, "Cresent Hardy and the Republicans in Congress want to block the U.S. from accepting any Syrian refugees out of fear and panic. Some Republican Presidential candidates even want to administer religious tests before accepting refugees.

We should be working together to strengthen our vetting process and accept refugees escaping terrorism-- not turning our backs on people in need. That's the American response, not to cower in fear to terrorists and thugs. America should continue to be a beacon of hope and freedom for the world, and that means opening our arms to those who have suffered horrific violence and been thrown out of their home country."

Minutes before the vote Nanette Barragan, running in a 70% Hispanic open district in Los Angeles told me that she is "appalled by the rhetoric coming from the right. I once represented a Guatemalan mother who fled the Maras gang that killed her son. She and her child sought safety within our borders because they knew that the values and compassion of our country would be their salvation. Yes, we should take common sense steps to keep terrorists from our borders, but it is inhumane and, frankly, un-American to close down our borders to innocent families fleeing violence."

Donna Edwards voted against the bill, of course. She told her constituents in Maryland why: "We must remember the enemy is ISIS, not the refugees who are fleeing the region. I believe strongly that as Americans we cannot deny people shelter and safety based on stereotyping and xenophobia; it runs counter to who we are as a nation. We have the ability and the resources to welcome refugees, while taking all necessary steps to ensure our own security at the same time. It is what we have done and what we will continue to do."

I brought Lou Reed to the White House for a state banquet when Clinton was president. Lou played this song. No one-- at least no one at my table-- seemed to notice the lyrics; they just liked the beat.

Give me your hungry, your tired your poor
I'll piss on 'em
that's what the Statue of Bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses,
let's club 'em to death
and get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard

One Week From Today-- Hawaii Picks Between A Proven Progressive And Two Proven Conservatives

Who fought against LGBT equality? Mark Takai and Donna Kim, the 2 conservatives in the race

"Peace through strength!"-- Reagan’s bellicose slogan emulated by faux-progressive congressional candidate in Hawaii.

"Peace through strength" wasn't thought up by Reagan-- nothing was-- but by Emperor Hadrian around 100 years after the birth of our lord. Mark Takai, candidate for the open seat in Hawaii’s First Congressional District, in a nearly hour-long interview with the Hawaii Independent this week made explicit what’s been obvious to anyone following his 20-year career in politics.

Takai’s a military man, first and foremost.

At the start of the interview, Takai was asked to name his top priorities in Congress. First, he mentioned “climate change” and “sustainability,” without specifying any particular legislative action. He didn’t mention his vision of nuclear-power plants in paradise. Second on the list of priorities (but clearly first in his heart), he talked of his goal to increase military spending. Takai went to express his support for “military use” of drones, with his only caveat being that the weapons should be used on foreign soil.

One of the interviewers, to her credit, noted sustainability and militarism are often at odds. Takai had no counter.

Later in the interview, Takai was pressed on his support for more military spending, which one of the interviewers noted is opposed by the peace community in Hawaii. Takai didn’t back down:

I look at our military strength as a road to peace… I do understand people supporting peace, but I’m a 15-year member of the Hawaii National Guard. I’m a military person.

On this, Takai gets points for consistency. He never misses an opportunity to point out he’s a military man first and foremost. And by that, he means a military-spending man. On his Facebook page a few months ago, Takai lashed out at President Obama for having the nerve to put some modest checks on Pentagon appropriations:

I was disappointed to hear about the cuts announced recently. As a proud member of the Hawaii Army National Guard, I understand the importance of defense spending.

He went running to a right-wing blog to whine about the Commander-in-Chief:

State Rep. Mark Takai, a member of the Hawaii Army National Guard, said he is “shocked and stunned” by the drastic cuts to the defense construction budget for the military.

. . .“Our military bases are in desperate need of upgrades to accommodate this new focus,” said Takai, a Democrat. “This is not the time to eliminate these military construction projects for Hawaii as the Asia-Pacific Region becomes the priority.”

He’s been less consistent on matters of equality.

Same-sex marriage became a major political issue in Hawaii in 1993. Takai was first elected to the state House of Representatives the following year. In each of his 10 campaigns for the legislature, he ran on opposition to marriage equality. He pledged to Hawaii Family Forum in his two most recent campaigns, 2010 and 2012, to not just vote against marriage-equality legislation, but to actually support a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage.

Takai consistently fulfilled his promise to Hawaii Family Forum.

As recently as last year, Takai co-sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

The state Democratic Party platform has supported marriage equality for most of Takai’s time in office. But Takai was never swayed, until after deciding to run for Congress late last year. He sure fooled openly gay Japanese-American Congressman Mark Takano, though-- who lied to his colleagues at the Congressional Progressive Caucus and persuaded some of them that the demonstrably homophobic Takai is a fabulous progressive. Ugly identity politics.

He’s been rewarded for his anti-LGBT record by receiving substantial contributions to his congressional campaign from local anti-gay leaders like Mitch D’Olier and Republican activists like Dale Evans. I bet Takano didn't explain that to the folks at the CPC.

Democratic activists, however, took issue with Takai’s open defiance of the party platform. One filed a formal complaint with the party (later graciously withdrawn). The Hawaii Christian Coalition's website still boasts of the Religious Right's support for Takai in the fight:

Eleven state House and Senate Democrats face complaints before the Democratic Party of Hawaii for proposing a constitutional amendment on traditional marriage last session. The complaints allege the bills violate the party platform's support for equal rights and brought forth by Michael Golojuch. REALLY? Equal rights should also be afforded to these lawmakers, Senate President Donna Mercado Kim, Sen. Mike Gabbard, House Vice Speaker John Mizuno, and Reps. Calvin Say, Sharon Har, Henry Aquino, Karen Awana, Ty Cullen, Ken Ito, K. Mark Takai, and Clift Tsuji. Don't they have a right to propose an amendment or a bill, regardless of who, what and where?

In the interview, in between his advocacy for more military spending, Takai boasted that he’s the only alternative to openly right-wing Democrat Donna Kim in this race. He contended progressives need to vote strategically and that he’s the sole candidate with meaningful endorsements.

Takai is obviously seeking votes from supporters of Stanley Chang-- a young liberal attorney and Honolulu City Councilmember who’s the only candidate with a cohesive progressive vision for Hawaii's working families and for America.

Takai’s contention that he’s the only serious contender to Kim dismisses the importance of Chang’s support from Blue America, Climate Hawks Vote, Congressman Alan Grayson, the Congressional Progressive Caucus PAC, People for the American Way, the state party’s GLBT Caucus and local trade unions.

In his own recent interview with the Hawaii Independent, Chang also talked about peace. But he’s actually for it-- and he spoke at length about the importance of diplomatic solutions to international disputes. He also talked about climate change. Chang spoke with ease-- but distress-- about impacts of climate change both locally and globally, and in contrast to Takai showed a deep understanding of scientific issues and terminology when discussing solutions. He scoffed at those who are touting natural gas as some sort of environmentally friendly answer, and stressed that the renewable-energy future must begin now. Chang went on to emphasize his strong support for labor rights and his opposition to the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Chang also expressed his dismay at the National Security Agency's “troubling” excesses in spying on Americans and allies.

Chang knocked on nearly 20,000 doors to win an awe-inspiring upset election to the Honolulu City Council as a first-time candidate in 2010. He’s working just as hard and is poised to finish strong leading up to the Aug. 9 Democratic primary. Help him do it.

Stanley kicked ass at the KITV debate last week-- the only televised debate of the campaign. Immediately afterward KITV polled and viewers were very clear about who they want for their next congressmember:

August Primaries

There are quite a few of them but the ones progressives have a stake in, in chronological order, are Hawaii (August 9), Wisconsin (August 12), and then a late super-Tuesday on August 26 for Arizona, Florida and Oklahoma. That same day has primaries in Alaska, Missouri, Oregon and Vermont with interesting races but no races that pit a progressive against a shill from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party.

Up top is the brand new video from one of the most grassroots campaigns anywhere, the Tom Guild campaign for the open Oklahoma City congressional seat. Guild came in a strong first in the 3-way June 24th primary, beating non-courageous, and conservative Establishment Democrat Al McAffrey:

• Tom Guild- 11,597 (42.1%)
• Al McAffrey- 8,505 (30.9%)
• Leona Leonard- 7,424 (27%)

McAffrey, who is being partially financed by Krumme Oil, has out-raised Guild but small contributions through ActBlue are keeping Guild competitive. OK-05 doesn't have an astronomical media market and Guild is using contributions to keep his ad on TV news shows and on a field operation and get out the vote effort.

Yesterday we took a brief look at the WI-07 primary, where a Republican right wing lunatic and gun fanatic, Mike Krsiean, switched his party registration so he could primary progressive Democrat Kelly Westlund in the race to replace Paul Ryan-clone Sean Duffy. The other Wisconsin primary to watch is in the southeast part of the state, WI-01, where an L.A.-based UFO conspiracy buff, Amar Kaleka, is challenging Rob Zerban (on the same day that a Republican marijuana activist named Jeremy Ryan is challenging Paul Ryan in the GOP primary. Republican crossbow expert Ryan Ryan says he will challenge whichever of the two Ryans wins when he's old enough to run in 2016.) So far Paul Ryan raised $6,938,372; Rob Zerban raised $494,878; Amar Kaleka raised $138,353; and neither Jeremy Ryan nor Ryan Ryan has raised enough to file with the FEC. In WI-07, Sean Duffy has raised $1,808,688; Kelly Westlund has raised $303,214; and Mike Krsiean and his 700 pound pig Barney are refusing to report their fundraising to the FEC.

There's an important primary in Phoenix, where Ed Pastor, first elected in 1991, is retiring from a super-blue district, AZ-07 (PVI D+16). Obama beat hometown boy John McCain there 65-34% and in 2012 wiped out Mitt Romney 72-27%. Whoever wins the Democratic primary August 26 will be the next congressmember. There are 4 Democratic candidates, Ruben Gallego, Randy Camacho, Jarrett Maupin and, from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party, Mary Rose Wilcox. Gallego, who has been endorsed by Raul Grijalva, Dolores Huerta, MoveOn, the Sierra Club, Climate Hawks Vote and Daily Kos, is the progressive fave in the race and Mary Rose Wilcox is just another grotesquely conservative, corrupt EMILY's List pick. They're the only two who have raised any money-- $434,873 for Gallego and $335,656 for Wilcox. Celinda Lake has done the only published poll (May 22) and it shows Gallego leading Wilcox 38-32%.

Primary day in Hawaii, two weeks from yesterday, is really important and it features two races, one for Senate and one for the House, that pit shills from the Republican wing of the Democratic Party against proven progressives. The Senate race is a match-up between Senator Brian Schatz, one of the best members of the Senate-- right up there with Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, Jeff Merkley and Tom Harkin-- against a corrupt conservative New Dem, Colleen Hanabusa. Everything you need to know about the Senate primary is here. The House race is to replace Hanabusa in the seat she gave up to run against Schatz. The progressive in the race is Stanley Chang and he's being challenged by two conservatives, Mark Takai and Donna Kim. Back in May the Congressional Progressive Caucus endorsed Chang. Last week, Japanese-American congressman, Mark Takano, lied to his fellow caucus members and convinced them that his Japanese-American pal Takai is not really a conservative and railroaded them into making it a "dual endorsement." They should have known better because Takano, one of the least effective and least trustworthy members of the CPC, also went to bat for corrupt conservative Pete Aguilar (a New Dem) on behalf of DCCC chairman Steve Israel (a Blue Dog who was behind both Aguilar and Takai).

One of the CPC members I respect, even admire, sent me a note that explained how Takano had persuaded him and other members to go for the dual endorsement. I don't have permission to publish it but I will publish my own response to that member:

Yeah, I know. And Brat had no chance to beat Cantor either. So Stanley had "no chance" so you endorsed an anti-gay conservative who's slightly better on most things-- but not all-- than Donna Kim, splitting the progressive vote and guaranteeing that Kim will win. Sorry it took so long to get back to you but the electricity in my neighborhood was down all day 'til just now.

Takai talks a good game, but he's not a progressive, as I've been writing about on my blog.

Many Democrats including el presidente have "evolved" on marriage equality in recent years, but Takai's flip-flop is very recent and smacks of opportunism, which is how the press in Honolulu interpreted it. Takai voted no on civil unions twice and was in favor of a constitutional amendment defining marriage as between a man and a woman in 2012. He only reversed his position after deciding to run for Congress, a few months ago. Does a "progressive" go from no on civil unions and pro-marriage amendment to yes on marriage in the blink of an eye?

Takai introduced bills to drug-test welfare recipients twice. He's terrible on choice. You mentioned emergency contraception as an issue that is important to you, but Takai has repeatedly said that he would vote for religious exemptions for hospitals that don't wish to offer emergency contraception, including in statements to the Hawaii Family Forum in 2010 and 2012. This is not ancient history.

You expressed concern about the polling, but the most recent poll (by Civil Beat) was conducted over two months ago. It had a sample size of 249 people and a margin of error of nearly 5%. This poll was in the field just 2 days after Stanley's first TV ad went live and right at the point where Stanley's campaign began ramping up their voter outreach. It does not reflect today's reality on the ground. The media in Hawaii paid barely any attention at all to this race until very recently, due to the high-profile primaries for Senate and Governor. In May, voters were not knowledgeable about the candidates and were only responding on the basis of name recognition.

Labor unions and other local organizations are notoriously risk-averse in their endorsements and tend to go for establishment figures. Stanley has gone out of his way to court labor and all the local unions like him. Many of the major unions like HGEA have decided to stay neutral in this race. The endorsement by Equality Hawaii is a joke. There was no questionnaire, no process, no interview; just a few board members getting together to back Takai. Equality Hawaii is widely mocked and hated by the progressive LGBT community in the state. Takai's endorsement by the Star-Advertiser is meaningless and they are very conservative, having endorsed the worst Democrat in contemporary Hawaii politics Mufi Hannemann (anti-equality so-called Democrat turned Independent this cycle) twice for Governor in 2010 and Congress in 2012. Needless to say, he lost both times.

I'm not sure what evidence Takai gave you for his strong ground game, but we have people on the ground in Honolulu and they are NOT seeing it. Except for Schatz, Stanley's campaign is the only one in the state that has a serious field operation. I'm talking about real voter outreach, not just appearances like sign-waving, which is what many in Hawaii mean when they talk about canvassing.

Kim said in this week's debate, when asked who she would vote for if she weren't running: "To be very honest, I would be supporting Mark Takai, because I've worked with Mark Takai for many years in the State House of Representatives. We get along very well and I respect Mark."

Takai is going through the motions to pander to the progressive community, and if you watch his talking points over the past several months you will notice this evolution. Sure, it's great that he's on our side now for some issues, but I have a hard time imagining him in the Progressive Caucus-- MAYBE the way Jared is-- and I very much doubt that he'll be a reliable progressive vote if elected. His interest first and foremost is bringing more military resources to Hawaii.

XXX, I don't expect anything better from Takano, but you got sold a bill of goods and I feel awful about it.

Endorsed Mark Takai, who has a virulently homophobic voting record, but… what the hell?

Do You Back Candidates Because They're The Same Color Or Religion As You Are?

If you read DWT much, you know how much we distrust identity politics around here. Voting for someone because they are the same religion or ethnicity of gender, etc seems kind of primitive and politically immature. I always thought it should be about character and policy. I was very happy last week when People for the American Way endorsed Stanley Chang for the Honolulu-based congressional seat that Hanabusa gave up and I had been very happy a couple months before that to see the Congressional Progressive Caucus endorse him. Stanley is, hands down, the most progressive of the 7 Democratic candidates in the race. Stanley is a Chinese-American. I don't recall anyone being of Chinese ancestry on the PFAW Board and I'm willing to bet that he wasn't endorsed by the CPC because of his ethnicity either. In both cases, it was all about his progressive policy positions and the progressive work he's done on the Honolulu City Council. So I was gob-smacked this week when I was told that two Japanese-American progressives I think highly of, Mark Takano and Mike Honda, bucked the CPC and endorsed one of Chang's conservative opponents, Mark Takai.

I bet Takano, who is very serious about his gay identity as well as his Japanese-American identity would be mortified if he knew Takai's anti-gay voting record that conveniently changed just when he announced he would be running for Congress. Takai voted no on civil unions in 2010 and 2011.

And I wonder if Mike Honda, one of Congress' preeminent supporters of the down-and-out, knows that Takai was the lead sponsor of a bill to drug-test recipients of public assistance benefits last year. And he's been a cheerleader for Donna Kim's endless tirades against public employees and institutions.

I suspect neither Takano nor Honda bothered to read the 2012 Hawaii Family Forum survey, in which Takai is clear he backed a state constitutional amendment defining marriage as the union of one man and one woman and backs the conservative position that gives religious organizations the right to refuse outside groups from using their facilities for activities related even to civil unions.

On one issue he's even more conservative than the religious-right candidate in the primary, Donna Mercado Kim. She was undecided on voting to include a conscience exemption in laws requiring all Hawaii hospitals to provide abortifacient medication to sex assault victims, but Takai said yes. It's hard to imagine either Takano or Honda backing someone with this kind of a record-- and not from ancient history wither, from the last election cycle!

Takai also happens to be a big nuclear power booster and introduced bills in both 2009 and 2011 that would “direct the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism to develop a permitting process for nuclear energy generation facilities in Hawaii.” Just five days after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan that caused level 7 nuclear meltdowns at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, he commented, “I still think it’s prudent for us to take a look at whether nuclear energy is a viable option.”

Takai is far more hawkish than either Takano or Honda and openly advocates spending more money on the military. And he is every bit as friendly with the right wing as Donna Kim is. Hawaii has a fringe Koch-affiliated think tank called the Grassroot Institute. It espouses libertarian economics, but is mostly known for its open hostility to Hawaiian sovereignty. When the Grassroot Institute named a new CEO last year, Takai was the only elected official quoted in the press release. Just a few months ago, he sat down for a nearly hour-long videotaped lovefest (and snoozefest) with the CEO, in which they talked about their shared commitment to Christian faith and beliefs that the public-school system should be "run like a business" and "school choice should be de-politicized." On gridlock in Congress, Takai offered this: "You have people on the left who are really dug in..."

So much for being the "progressive" alternative to Kim (which is an idea he and his backers are pushing hard to people who don't know much about history). Blue America endorsed Stanley Chang-- and as far as I know neither John Amato, Digby, Jacquie or myself is Chinese-American, just progressive-American-- and we're helping him raise money for his get out the vote operation for the August 9th primary. Below is a new ad that shows Stanley talking about... well the same issues Takano and Honda talk about all the time.

Who's Driving The GOP "Shut Down The Government" Agenda?

This week Weekly Standard editor Fred Barnes had a typically gratuitous and nasty diatribe against President Obama in the Wall Street Journal featuring a bizarro-world right-wing reinterpretation of history; nothing new there. Peter King (R-NY) was on Hardball Tuesday telling Chris Matthews that there are about 30 to 40 Republicans in Congress who refuse to recognize the legitimacy of Obama’s presidency and are seeking to erase everything that’s happened during his administration.

Republicans and their propagandists are desperate to somehow put the onus for the government shutdown on the president while they celebrate it and congratulate themselves behind closed doors. As we saw Tuesday, shutting down the government was a carefully devised Republican Party strategy and a policy goal and the posturing around it is… just posturing.

As Ari Melber said in the clip above, "There are enough votes to fund the government but John Boehner is afraid to let democracy resolve this crisis." Jonathan Weisman and Ashley Parker explained it for NY Times readers a little more sensibly than Barnes. Where Barnes was babbling some kind of nonsense about John Boehner being a modern day Everett Dirksen, Weisman and Parker are more grounded in history-- and reality.

In contrast to 1995, when Speaker Newt Gingrich led his band of “revolutionary” Republicans into the last battle that shuttered the federal government, this time a small but powerful group of outspoken conservative hard-liners is leading its leaders-- and increasingly angering a widening group of fellow Republicans.

“We’ve passed the witching hour of midnight, and the sky didn’t fall, nothing caved in,” said Representative Steve King, Republican of Iowa, who still believes Republicans can achieve “the end of Obamacare.” “Now the pressure will build on both sides, and the American people will weigh in.”

Mr. King is part of a hard-core group of about two dozen or so of the most conservative House members who stand in the way of a middle path for Mr. Boehner that could keep most of his party unified while pressuring the Senate to compromise. Their numbers may be small, but they are large enough to threaten the speaker’s job if he were to turn to Democrats to pass a spending bill that reopened the government without walloping the health law. Their strategy is to yield no ground until they are able to pass legislation reining in the health care law; if the federal government stays closed, so be it.

And they believe they are winning.

“It’s getting better for us,” said Representative Raúl R. Labrador, Republican of Idaho. “The moment where Republicans are least popular is right when the government shuts down. But when the president continues to say he’s unwilling to negotiate with the American people, when Harry Reid says he won’t even take things to conference, I don’t think the American people are going to take that too kindly.”

Representative Jeff Duncan, Republican of South Carolina, also did not flinch.

“We feel strongly enough” to hold the line, he said. “I was elected in 2010. I feel Obamacare is shutting down America.”

For nearly three years, Mr. Boehner has been vexed by an ungovernable conservative group made of up ideologically committed conservatives from safe House seats. The group has defied his leadership, rallied others to its cause and worn its gadfly status proudly. Earlier this year, the speaker disregarded them and passed three major bills that attracted only a minority of his party. Instead, he relied on Democratic votes to pass a budget plan that allowed taxes to rise on the rich, relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy and an expansion of the Violence Against Women Act.

That nucleus of that group has stuck in the leadership’s craw for some time. Representative Justin Amash, Republican of Michigan, has voted against Republican positions 136 times in his short stretch in Congress. Representative Paul Broun, Republican of Georgia, has voted no on Republican motions 84 times. Representative Thomas Massie, a freshman from Kentucky, is rising in the pesky ranks with 91 no votes in nine months.

In March, Representatives Matt Salmon and David Schweikert, both Arizona Republicans, responded with a threat to bring down any bill that did not have overwhelming Republican support through procedural maneuvers. The speaker has refrained ever since.

But the influence of the group is sparking an internal backlash, as a growing band of moderate and institutional Republicans are demanding that Mr. Boehner stand up to the conservatives-- to reopen the government and reach bipartisan accommodations in the future.

“You have somewhere between 180 and 200 Republican governance votes in the House, and going forward on this issue and many other issues, we’re going to have to find a coalition of Democrats to work with,” said Representative Charlie Dent, Republican of Pennsylvania, “and recognize there is going to be a few dozen people on the Republican side who just aren’t going to be there on a lot of these major governance matters.”

With much of the government shut down, patience is wearing thin among some Republicans who see the maneuvering of the coalition of conservatives as counterproductive. In 2011, the hard-liners insisted on including a constitutional amendment to balance the budget in a House spending-cut bill, splitting the Republicans in a way that many believe led to fewer cuts in the final Budget Control Act than they would have had otherwise. In December, when they brought down the speaker’s proposal to let taxes rise on incomes over $1 million, Mr. Boehner was left with two choices: let the Bush-era tax cuts expire for everyone, or accept a bipartisan Senate plan that raised taxed on households earning over $400,000. He chose the latter.

“I’m not suggesting their motives are not legitimately felt, but you get to a point where we can accomplish something here, but we’re watching the speaker constrained on what he can deliver, a practical promise from a united House,” said Representative Patrick Meehan, Republican of Pennsylvania. “We retreat from a position of strength and accept something that’s worse.”

Now, many Republicans believe conservative demands to inflict real damage to the health care law is letting slip away the chance to make more realistic changes to the law, like a repeal of its tax on medical devices.

“They have never followed any leadership plan, and now all of a sudden the leadership has adopted their plans and we’re fully implementing their strategy and plan, which is I think is actually a lack of a strategy,” said Devin Nunes, Republican of California.

…To many Senate Republicans, the House’s position has now become mystifying.

“I can’t blame them for anything other than being sold a line that wouldn’t work, seeing the outside support and saying ‘maybe, maybe, maybe,’ ” Senator Richard M. Burr, Republican of North Carolina, said of House conservatives. “Well, you know that train only in a children’s story actually gets to the top of the hill.”

So far 16 Republicans-- one less than needed, if Pelosi can keep right-wing Democrats like McIntyre, Matheson and Sinema in line-- have said they would vote for a clean CR:

• Jim Gerlach (R-PA)
• Charlie Dent (R-PA)
• Leonard Lance (R-NJ)
• Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)
• Peter King (R-NY)
• Erik Paulsen (R-MN)
• Randy Forbes (R-VA)
• Pat Meehan (R-PA)
• Scott Rigell (R-VA)
• Frank Wolf (R-VA)
• Michael Fitzpatrick (R-PA)
• John Runyan (R-NJ)
• Lou Barletta (R-PA)
• Rob Wittman (R-VA)
• Michael "Mikey Suits" Grimm (R-NY)
• Devin Nunes (R-CA)

Bolded names are in districts Obama won in 2008 and/or 2012. And... the magic number (17) came in yesterday afternoon. Mike Simpson (R-ID), who already has a crazed teabagger primarying him said: "I'd vote for a clean CR, because I don't think this is a strategy that works." And #18, Bill Young (R-FL) from a nice blue district. Two more: Richard Hanna (R-NY) and Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL). OK, then... all we need is for that drunken, orange Speaker to allow a vote and everything goes back to normal.

Best response for this so far comes from Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), who in contrast to these 40 to 80 Republican absolutists and extremists in their gerrymandered little red hellholes, really is America's senator.